Consumer electronic appliances such as set top boxes for receiving and decoding cable and satellite signals, televisions, DVD players, game systems, etc. are well known in the art, as are the hand held controlling devices, for example remote controls, which may be provided for use in issuing commands to these appliances. In some instances these controlling devices may be made available in various forms, for example coded to assist in recognition of individual users in a household; optimized for a specific function such as game playing, web browsing, or movie watching; or specially adapted to the needs of the elderly or of children. While such controlling devices may serve the purposes for which they were intended, in some instances it would be advantageous if the controlled appliance were further enabled to recognize the nature of the controlling device currently in use and adapt its appliance configuration, menuing system, GUI, etc. accordingly.